MasukCHAPTER 35Nyra’s POVThe word stays in my head long after the soldier’s body hits the ground, echoing in a way that refuses to fade, because there is a difference between being hunted and being taken, but there is an even greater difference between being taken and being returned, and that single word tells me something I cannot ignore no matter how much I want to push it away, Returned means I belong somewhere.Returned means someone believes I was theirs to begin with.And I hate that more than anything.“They think I am theirs,” I say quietly, my voice steady even though something deeper is starting to shift under my skin, something I do not fully understand but cannot ignore anymore.Kael stands beside me, his gaze still on the battlefield, sharp and calculating, but I can feel it, the tension in him, the way his focus keeps pulling back to me no matter how hard he tries to stay on the fight.“They are wrong,” he says.I let out a slow breath. “We do not know that.”His head turn
CHAPTER 34Nyra’s POVThe moment the plan settles into place, something inside me becomes very still, like the chaos around me fades just enough for me to see clearly, to think clearly, to move with purpose instead of instinct, and that is when I know this is the kind of danger I understand best, the kind where survival depends not just on strength, but on who thinks faster, who breaks first, who controls the fight instead of being dragged by it.They want me.So I will decide how they get close.“Fall back from the eastern breach,” Kael commands, his voice cutting through the noise with a force that demands obedience, and I watch as warriors begin to shift, reluctant at first, confused, but they follow, because that is what power does, it makes people move even when they do not understand whyThe space begins to change, The fight tightens, Narrows.Exactly where we need itI move toward the center of the courtyard slowly, deliberately, every step measured, every breath controlled,
CHAPTER 33Nyra’s POVThe moment those words leave his mouth, something inside me tightens so hard it almost feels like it might break, because there is a difference between being hunted to die and being hunted to be taken, and somehow the second feels worse, colder, more terrifying in a way I cannot fully explain even to myself.For years I have survived knowing death could come at any moment, and I learned how to fight it, how to outrun it, how to stare it in the face without flinching, but this… this feels different, because being taken means losing control, and losing control is something I swore I would never allow again.Kael shifts beside me, his presence darkening, his energy pressing outward in a way that makes the nearest fighters hesitate, because even in the middle of chaos, power like his cannot be ignored, and right now it feels sharper than ever.“No one takes her,” he says, his voice low and steady, but there is something beneath it now, something dangerous that was no
CHAPTER 32Nyra’s POVThe moment he disappears, something inside me refuses to settle, like my body knows this is not over, like it is already preparing for the next time our paths cross, and that thought alone makes my chest feel too tight, too heavy for a fight that is still happening all around me.I do not have time to stand there.Another wave crashes into the courtyard, louder, stronger, and this time I see it clearly, more of them pushing through the broken gates, more soldiers pouring in like they have no end, like the Council decided tonight would be enough to break us completely.“They are not stopping,” someone shouts behind me, panic bleeding into their voice.“They were never going to,” I mutter under my breath as I step forward again, forcing my body back into motion even though something deep inside me is still shaking from that encounter.My blade feels heavier now, not because I am tired, but because everything has changed in a way I cannot ignore anymore.He knew me.
CHAPTER 31Nyra’s POVHe moves like the world around him does not exist, like the screams and the blood and the chaos are nothing but noise that cannot touch him, and that alone tells me everything I need to know before his first strike even comes.This man is not here to fight a war.He is here for me.I barely have time to raise my blade before he reaches me, his movement sharp and controlled in a way that feels too precise, too practiced, like every step has already been planned long before this moment.Our weapons meet with a force that sends a shock through my arm, but I hold my ground, I push back, refusing to give him the advantage he clearly expects.“You are faster than they said,” he murmurs, like this is nothing more than a conversation instead of a fight that could end my life in seconds.I grit my teeth and twist away from his next strike, my body moving on instinct, my mind already racing ahead, searching for patterns, for weaknesses, for anything I can use.“They talk t
CHAPTER 30Nyra’s POVThe first man who comes at me thinks I will hesitate, and I see it in his eyes before he even reaches me, that small moment where he expects fear, where he expects me to step back instead of forward.He is wrong.I move before he can finish his strike, my body reacting faster than thought, faster than doubt, because there is no space for either of those things now. My blade meets his with a sharp clash that echoes through the chaos around us, and for a second we are locked there, strength against strength, breath against breath.Then I twist.His balance breaks.My blade finds his side.He drops.I do not stop.There is no time to think about the way his body hits the ground, no time to feel anything about the blood that stains my hands, because another one is already coming, and then another, and the world turns into nothing but movement and sound and survival.The courtyard has become something unrecognizable, something wild and violent and alive in the worst w







